Drawer guide support bracket

ABSTRACT

A support bracket for a furniture assembly is provided to mount a drawer guide component on a furniture frame. The support bracket includes a generally flat base having a pair of spaced apart and substantially parallel dowels extending from one side of the base for receipt in spaced openings in the furniture frame. The support bracket also includes an insert molded into the base and located on an axis between and substantially parallel to the dowels, wherein the insert has an opening facing in a direction opposite from the dowels for receiving a fastener mounting the drawer guide component to a second side of the base opposite from the one side.

The present invention is directed generally to drawer guide assemblies for cabinets and, more particularly, to support brackets for mounting drawer guide assemblies to cabinets.

BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Cabinets often include drawer guide assemblies that are typically disposed between sidewalls of a cabinet housing and a drawer thereof. Guides are usually attached to internal sidewalls of the cabinet housing, and slides are typically attached to external sidewalls of the drawer for movement with the drawer. The slides engage with and move relative to the guides to facilitate movement of the drawer in and out of the cabinet housing. Guide assemblies may further include an intermediate member and/or roller bearings having sliding engagement with the slide and guide, and which operate to move relative to both when the drawer is slid into and out of the cabinet housing. Such “pull-out” guide assemblies operate under particularly tight tolerances and, thus, require precision in fastening the guide assemblies to the cabinet housing, in order to avoid drawer misalignment or binding. Moreover, it is becoming increasingly desirable to mount rear flanges of the guides to a back wall of the cabinet housing, instead of mounting the guides to the sidewalls of the cabinet housing.

Such a “rear-mounted” pull-out drawer guide configuration presents some challenges. First, it is particularly difficult and labor intensive to extend a fastening tool and fastener into a deep drawer opening of a cabinet housing to fasten a rear flange of the guide to the back wall of the cabinet housing. Second, in operation, there is a lack of lateral adjustment when moving the drawer in and out of the cabinet housing, because the rear flange of the guide is affixed to the back wall of the cabinet housing. Third, because the rear flange is affixed to the cabinet housing, there is a lack of adjustment and, therefore, fastening apertures in the cabinet housing and rear flange must be produced using costly precision techniques.

A general object of the present invention is to provide a furniture drawer guide mounting arrangement, particularly for bearing-type guides, having two extending dowels for receipt in existing holes on the cabinet, and which accommodates side-to-side motion of the guide rails as the drawer is opened and closed.

A support bracket is provided for mounting a drawer guide component on a furniture frame, in accordance with one aspect of the invention. The support bracket includes a generally flat base having a pair of spaced apart and substantially parallel dowels extending from one side of the base for receipt in spaced openings in the furniture frame. The support bracket also includes an insert molded into the base and located on an axis between and substantially parallel to the dowels, wherein the insert has an opening facing in a direction opposite from the dowels for receiving a fastener mounting the drawer guide component to a second side of the base opposite from the one side.

In accordance with a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a furniture assembly including a furniture frame having a back wall, a drawer guide component, and the above-described support bracket for mounting the drawer guide component to the back wall of the furniture frame. In accordance with preferred aspects of the invention, the insert preferably extends beyond the second side of the base through a slot in the drawer guide, the base preferably includes bosses extending from the second side of the base for constraining the drawer guide, and the base also preferably includes ribs, and webs interconnecting the ribs.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention, together with additional objects, features, advantages and aspects thereof, will be best understood from the following description, the appended claims and the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a partially exploded perspective view of a cabinet including a cabinet housing and a drawer, according to one exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged, exploded perspective view of a portion of the cabinet of FIG. 1, illustrating a guide, mounting adapter, and fastener;

FIG. 3 is a top view of the assembled guide, mounting adapter, and fastener of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a rear view of the mounting adapter of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a side view of the mounting adapter of FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a rear perspective view of a mounting adapter according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a rear view of the mounting adapter of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a top view of the mounting adapter of FIG. 6;

FIG. 9 is a side view of the mounting adapter of FIG. 6, illustrating a rear flange of a drawer guide in phantom lines; and

FIG. 10 is a front view of the mounting adapter of FIG. 6, illustrating a rear flange of a drawer guide in phantom lines.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIGS. 1 through 5 illustrate one exemplary embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 illustrates a cabinet or furniture assembly 110 including a cabinet housing or furniture frame 112 and a drawer 114. As used herein, the term furniture includes any type of cabinet, housing, storage device, or the like, that includes a drawer. The furniture frame 112 and drawer 114 may be composed of any desired material, but such cabinetry is typically composed of wood or a wood-based product.

The furniture frame 112 includes opposed sidewalls 116, 118, a back wall 120 connecting the sidewalls 116, 118, and a front wall 122 also connecting the sidewalls 116, 118 and being disposed opposite of the back wall 120. The furniture frame 112 further includes opposed guide assemblies 124 (one shown) including a guide 126 and bearings 128. The guide 126 and bearings 128 may be composed of any desired material, including plastic, but such hardware is typically composed of metal such as galvanized or stainless steel. If desired, the guide assemblies 126 may be attached at a front end to the sidewalls 116, 118 of the furniture frame 112 or may be attached at the front end to an upper rail 130 or lower rail 132 of the front wall 122 of the furniture frame 112. At an opposed rear end, the guide 126 preferably terminates in the form of a mounting flange 134, which attaches to an interior surface 136 of the back wall 120 of the furniture frame 112 via a fastener 138, such as a screw. The fastener 138 fastens into a dowel adapter or support bracket 140, which plugs into sockets, openings, or holes (not shown) in or through the back wall 120. It is contemplated that the mounting flange 134 could be a separate bracket that attaches to the rest of the guide 126, if desired. In other words, the guide 126 itself, its flange 134, or some other intermediate bracket could be used, and each may be referred to herein as a guide component. The support bracket 140 may be composed of any suitable material, but is preferably of molded polymeric or plastic construction, such as injection molded “polyamide 6” or the like.

The drawer 114 includes opposed sidewalls 142, 144, a back wall 146 connecting the sidewalls 142, 144, and a front wall 148 also connecting the sidewalls 142, 144 and being disposed opposite of the back wall 146. The drawer 114 further includes opposed slides 150 (one shown) attached to the sidewalls 142, 144 for movement with the drawer 114. The slides 150 engage with and move relative to the guides 126 and rollers 128 to facilitate movement of the drawer 114 in and out of the furniture frame 112.

FIG. 2 illustrates the guide 126, fastener 138, and support bracket 140 in an enlarged, exploded perspective view of a portion of the furniture frame 112 of FIG. 1. The mounting flange 134 of the guide 126 includes an elongated aperture or slot 152 for accepting a shank 154 of the fastener 138 therethrough. The shank 154 of the fastener 138 fastens into an open-ended insert 155 within a body or base 158 of the support bracket 140. The insert 156 may be composed of metal such as brass, or the like, and may be separately fastened, press fit, or the like, into the base 158, but is preferably insert molded during the molding of the support bracket 140. Alternatively, the insert 156 could be an integral feature of the base 158. In any case, the insert 156 includes a threaded opening 155, and is disposed along an axis that is substantially parallel to two spaced apart and generally parallel dowels 160 (FIGS. 2-6). As such, the shank 154 and insert 156 are preferably threaded for threading interengagement, but any other type of fastening arrangement is contemplated. The support bracket 140 includes the pair of dowels 160, which are adapted for interengagement with the back wall 120 of the furniture frame 112 of FIG. 1. The fastener 138 fastens the mounting flange 134 of the guide 126 flat against the base 158 of the support bracket 140 until a head 162 of the fastener 138 just makes initial contact with the mounting flange 134. In other words, the fastener 138 is not fastened down so tightly as to completely prevent the guide 126 from moving. Accordingly, the mounting flange 134 and the rest of the guide 126 are freely laterally moveable with respect to the support bracket 140 and back wall 120 of the furniture frame 112 in a direction along the longitude or width of the slot 152. The width of the slot 152 is sized to accommodate suitable horizontal or lateral movement of the guide 126. In contrast, the height of slot 152 and diameter of the shank 154 of the fastener 138 are sized such that the shank 154 substantially restrains vertical movement of the guide 126. Therefore, the guide 126 and support bracket 140 provide a self-centering assembly to prevent misalignment or binding when operating the drawer.

FIG. 3 illustrates the support bracket 140 as fastened to the mounting flange 134 of the guide 126 via the fastener 138 extending through the guide 126 and into the insert 156. The shank 154 of the fastener 138 threads to the insert 156 until the head 162 of the fastener 138 just makes initial contact with the guide 126, such that a front surface or side 157 of the support bracket base 158 engages the mounting flange 134 of the guide 126 and a rear surface or side 159 of the base 158 engages the back wall 120 of the furniture frame 112. Preferably, the guide 126 is pre-assembled and fastened to the support bracket 140 before the support bracket 140 is assembled and mounted to the furniture frame 112. This obviates the need to extend a fastener tool (not shown) and the fastener 138 deeply into the furniture frame 112 to the back wall 120 thereof. Rather, merely the guide 126 and the assembled support bracket 140 need to be extended to the back wall 120 and integrally snap fit thereto. Accordingly, the support bracket 140 is shown fastened to the back wall 120 of the furniture frame 112 via the spaced apart dowels 160 that extend through the back wall 120. The dowels 160 extend from the rear side 159 of the base 158 and include semi-cylindrical portions 164 and resilient snap tabs 166 associated therewith. The snap tabs 166 are adapted to deflect radially inwardly upon insertion through the back wall 120 of the furniture frame 112 and are further adapted to resiliently snap back in a radially outward direction upon extending through the back wall 120, so as to trap the back wall 120 between the snap tabs 166 and the base 158 of the support bracket 140. Accordingly, the support bracket 140 is integrally fastened to the furniture frame 112. FIGS. 4 and 5 further illustrate the support bracket 140 in rear and side views respectively. FIGS. 4 and 5 show the base 158, the dowels 160 having the semi-cylindrical portions 164 and the resilient snap tabs 166, and the internally threaded insert 156.

FIGS. 6 through 10 illustrate another exemplary embodiment of the present invention. This embodiment is similar in many respects to the embodiment of FIGS. 1 through 5 and like numerals between the embodiments designate like or corresponding elements throughout the several views of the drawing figures. Accordingly, much of the common subject matter will generally not be repeated here.

FIG. 6 illustrates a support bracket 240 from a rear perspective. The support bracket 240 includes a base 258 having a front surface or side 257 and an oppositely disposed rear surface or side 259. Dowels 260 extend from the rear side 259 of the base 258 and include semi-cylindrical portions 264 and associated resilient snap tabs 266. The base 258 is also defined by relatively thick ribs 270 and relatively thin webs 272 extending between the ribs 270. This arrangement of ribs 270 and webs 272 enables use of relatively less material compared to the support bracket 140 of FIGS. 1-5. FIGS. 7 and 8 further illustrate the support bracket 240 in rear and side views respectively. FIGS. 7 and 8 show the following features of the base 258: the dowels 260 having the semi-cylindrical portions 264 and the resilient snap tabs 266, an internally threaded insert 256 that extends beyond a plane defined by the front side 257 of the base 258, the ribs 270, the walls 272, and spaced apart guide retainer bosses 274.

FIGS. 9 and 10 illustrate the support bracket 240 as fastened to a mounting flange 234 of a guide 226 via a fastener 238 extending through the mounting flange 234 and into the insert 256. A shank 254 of the fastener 238 threads into the insert 256 until a head 262 of the fastener 238 just makes initial contact with a front surface 255 of the insert 256, such that the front surface 257 of the base 258 of the support bracket 240 loosely engages the guide 226. Preferably, the guide 226 is pre-assembled and fastened to the support bracket 240 before the support bracket 240 is assembled and mounted to the furniture frame 212. After the guide 226 is fastened to the support bracket 240, the guide 226 with the support bracket 240 is extended into the furniture frame 212 to the back wall 220 thereof, wherein the dowels 260 of the support bracket 240 enter openings in the back wall 220 and the rear side 259 of the base 258 engages the back wall 220. Accordingly, the support bracket 240 is fastened to the back wall 220 of the furniture frame 212 via the spaced apart dowels 260 that extend through the back wall 220. The dowels 260 extend from the rear side 259 of the base 258 and include the semi-cylindrical portions 264 and the resilient snap tabs 266 associated therewith. The snap tabs 266 are adapted to deflect radially inwardly upon insertion through the back wall 220 of the furniture frame 212 and are further adapted to resiliently snap back in a radially outward direction upon extending through the back wall 220, so as to trap the back wall 220 between the snap tabs 266 and the base 258 of the support bracket 240. Accordingly, the support bracket 240 is integrally fastened to the furniture frame 212.

The guide 226 is vertically constrained relative to the support bracket 240. First, the bosses 274 are preferably adapted for internal constraining engagement with the guide 226 in channels (not shown) thereof. Alternatively, it is contemplated that the height of the guide 226 could be such that the guide 226 fits snugly between the bosses 274 such that the bosses 274 are adapted for external constraining engagement with the guide 226. In any event, the bosses 274 substantially prevent rotation or vertical relative motion between the support bracket 240 and the guide 226. This assures that the support bracket 240 is maintained straight on the guide 226 when fastening the fastener 238 and when mounting the assembled guide 226 and support bracket 240 to the back wall 220 of the furniture frame 212. Second, the insert 256 extends through a slot 252 in the guide 226 and is provided as substantially rectangular in shape, wherein the insert 256 has a longer width than height to provide a wide land with which to engage the slot 252 and for suitably engaging the fastener 238. The width of the slot 252 is sized relative to the width of the insert 256 so as to accommodate suitable horizontal or lateral movement of the guide 226. In contrast, the height of slot 252 and height of the insert 256 are sized such that the insert 256 substantially restrains vertical movement of the guide 226 and prevents rotation of the support bracket 240 relative to the guide 226. Moreover, the insert 256 extends fully through the slot 252 and slightly beyond the surface of the guide 226 so that when the fastener 238 is fastened down it contacts a front surface or side 255 of the insert 256 such that the guide 226 is trapped between the fastener 238 and base 258 but is freely laterally moveable with respect to the support bracket 240 and back wall 220 of the furniture frame 212 in a direction along the longitude or width of the slot 252. Therefore, the guide 226 and support bracket 240 provide a self-centering assembly to prevent misalignment or binding when operating the drawer.

There have thus been described a support bracket and furniture assembly that fully satisfy all of the objects and aims previously set forth. The present invention has been disclosed in conjunction with presently preferred embodiments thereof, and a number of modifications and variations have been discussed. Other modifications and variations will readily suggest themselves to persons of ordinary skill in the art in view of the foregoing description. For example, the invention has been disclosed in conjunction with a furniture cabinet, however other implementations such as tool boxes, and other storage apparatuses are contemplated. Directional words such as top, bottom, upper, lower, radial, circumferential, lateral, longitudinal, vertical, horizontal, and the like are employed by way of description and not limitation. Indeed, the invention is intended to embrace all modifications and variations as fall within the spirit and broad scope of the appended claims. 

1. A support bracket for mounting a drawer guide component to a furniture frame, including: a generally flat base having a pair of spaced apart and substantially parallel dowels extending in a direction from one side of said base for receipt in spaced openings in the furniture frame, and an insert molded into said base and being located on an axis between and substantially parallel to said dowels, said insert having an opening facing in a direction opposite from that of said dowels for receiving a fastener mounting the drawer guide component to a second side of said base opposite from said one side.
 2. The support bracket set forth in claim 1, wherein said base is of molded plastic construction.
 3. The support bracket set forth in claim 2, wherein said insert is of metal construction.
 4. The support bracket set forth in claim 3, wherein said opening of said insert is threaded for threaded engagement with the fastener.
 5. The support bracket set forth in claim 1 wherein said insert extends beyond a plane established by said second side of said base so as to extend through an aperture in the drawer guide component and provide a fastening surface for engaging a head of the fastener.
 6. The support bracket set forth in claim 5 wherein the aperture in the drawer guide component is a slot and said insert extends through the slot to restrain relative vertical movement between said base and the drawer guide component.
 7. The support bracket set forth in claim 6 wherein the slot of the drawer guide component is wider than said insert so as to permit relative horizontal movement between said base and the drawer guide component.
 8. The support bracket set forth in claim 1 wherein said base further has a pair of opposed bosses extending from said second side in a direction opposite that of said dowels, said pair of opposed bosses engaging the drawer guide component to constrain relative vertical movement between said base and the drawer guide component.
 9. The support bracket set forth in claim 8 wherein said pair of opposed bosses internally engage the drawer guide component.
 10. The support bracket set forth in claim 1 wherein said base is defined by ribs and webs extending therebetween.
 11. A furniture assembly, including: a furniture frame having a back wall with spaced openings; a drawer guide assembly having a drawer guide component with a slot therethrough; and a support bracket for mounting the drawer guide component to the back wall of the furniture frame, the support bracket includes: a generally flat base having a pair of spaced apart and substantially parallel dowels extending in a direction from one side of said base for receipt in the spaced openings in the back wall of the furniture frame, and an insert molded into said base and being on an axis between and substantially parallel to said dowels, said insert having an opening facing in a direction opposite from that of said dowels for receiving a fastener mounting the drawer guide component to a second side of said base opposite from said one side.
 12. The furniture assembly set forth in claim 11, wherein said base of said support bracket is of molded plastic construction.
 13. The furniture assembly set forth in claim 12, wherein said insert is of metal construction.
 14. The furniture assembly set forth in claim 13, wherein said opening of said insert is threaded for threaded engagement with the fastener.
 15. The furniture assembly set forth in claim 11 wherein said insert extends beyond a plane established by said second side of said base so as to extend through the slot in the drawer guide component and provide a fastening surface for engaging a head of the fastener.
 16. The furniture assembly set forth in claim 15 wherein the insert extends through the slot to restrain relative vertical movement between said base and the drawer guide component.
 17. The furniture assembly set forth in claim 16 wherein the slot of the drawer guide component is wider than said insert so as to permit relative horizontal movement between said base and the drawer guide component.
 18. The furniture assembly set forth in claim 11 wherein said base further has a pair of opposed bosses extending from said second side in a direction opposite that of said dowels, said pair of opposed bosses engaging the drawer guide component to constrain relative vertical movement between said base and the drawer guide component.
 19. The furniture assembly set forth in claim 18 wherein said pair of opposed bosses internally engage the drawer guide component.
 20. The furniture assembly set forth in claim 11 wherein said base is defined by ribs and webs extending therebetween. 